Rivets

[skip]

Thanks for the info, Shari. I will contact Helen Davis at the number you furnished and hopefully have a service manual by next week.
Happy Trails....

[davespann]

I have used the Olympics, Home Depot and standard aviation rivets. Aviation rivets can be a standard "pop" rivet, buck type, or what I like to use is one called a Cherry Max pop rivet. It has the strength of a bucked rivet but is a pop style fastener. It has a steel center stem with a steel lock ring that holds the sheared stem tight.

I used Olympics with the seal ring but used Vulcum with it just to make sure it had a tight seal. When the stem is pulled a small piece is left sticking out. Use a diagonal cutter to flush cut at the head. I polished the head with a bright boy wheel and Alum-all. The shaver for rivets is about $175. The bb wheel and buffing pad is about $10 and can be used in a drill.

Center punch the rivet heads and drill with a sharp #30 (1/8") or #27 (5/16"). I use cobalt bits. They are very sharp and last forever. They are the only thing to use on stainless steel.

I use a Craftman puller and a Home Depot "el-cheapo". Dave Spann

[74Argosy24MH]

If you want to knock the rivet head off instead of drilling grind a long chisel flat and narrow, the same shape as a flat screw driver. Make a small notch near the edge of the rivet by holding the chisel at a right angle to the body and giving it a light tap. Turn the chisel so it is as close to the body as possible and in the notch, give it a light tap. You are only shearing 1/8" of aluminum so it doesn't take much. Once the shank of the rivet is ground off most of them fall out of the hole or are just held by the bead of vulkem on the inside.

John

[Perry]

Hi everyone !

So, as I understand, the only rivets for a normal rivet gun are the ones with the hole in the middle.
I've seen on the net that they recommand putting a bit af mastic in the hole and shaving it.
Is there a way of using the original nohole rivets ?
Do I have to buy a super dooper rivet gun ?

I'm in France so to get all this stuff, it's not so easy, so I want to get it right the first time.

Bye for now.

PERRY

[joecj76]

I used Safari Tim's method of removing the rivets on my wing windows and it worked great! I made up a flat chisel out of an old power hack saw blade and inserted it behind the window frame and cut the rivets with a few taps from the hammer. Thanks again Tim!

[j54mark]

"Is there a way of using the original nohole rivets ?
Do I have to buy a super dooper rivet gun ? "

You are referring to solid, or "bucked" rivets. The process to install them is called "bucking". They require access to both sides of the workpiece. This is why Airstream uses bucked rivets on the exterior shell, but pop rivets on the interior.

Basically, an anvil is held in place on the inside, while the solid rivet is hammered throught he hole against the anvil. The anvil has a small concave depression that allows the aluminum to spread tight against the inside surface. This usually takes two people, although I understand the factory has some solid forms they put the aluminum against so it is a one man job.

Mark